The present invention relates to a drive system for a thin-film EL matrix display panel, which includes an EL thin layer sandwiched between a pair of dielectric layers.
A thin-film EL element can stably provide electroluminescence of high brightness. Therefore, a flat matrix display has been developed, wherein a plurality of data line electrodes and a plurality of scanning line electrodes are formed on a pair of dielectric layers, between which an EL thin layer is sandwiched, in a matrix fashion. A desired data line and a desired scanning line are connected to receive high voltages so as to provide the electroluminescence at a picture point where the selected data line and scanning line cross each other, whereby a desired symbol or picture is displayed in a dot matrix fashion.
The thin-film EL element requires a considerably high voltage of about 150 through 300 V to provide electroluminescence. In conventional drive systems, two kinds of high voltage switching elements are employed for connecting one group of electrodes to a high voltage source, and for connecting the other group of electrodes to a grounded terminal, respectively. That is, two kinds of switching elements, namely, NPN transistors and PNP transistors, or N-channel MOS transistors and P-channel MOS transistors are required. It is very difficult to form two different kinds of switching elements on a single substrate and, therefore, the conventional drive system is not suited for integrated circuit techniques.